A survivor of a deadly incident involving suspected illegal gold miners in Niger State says NSCDC officials sprayed an unknown substance into the cell before 37 detainees died in custody. The survivor recounts that detainees were held in an overcrowded room and that the substance was applied while they were confined.
The allegations are reported by multiple Nigerian outlets, which cite the same central account: that something was sprayed inside the cell shortly before the deaths. The reports describe the detainee space as small and overcrowded, and some details on the number of people held initially versus later appear through the survivors’ narration.
In the coverage, the Interior Minister, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, is mentioned as visiting the affected locations as part of the ongoing response to the incident. The outlets also frame the reports as survivor testimony, with no confirmed description of what the substance was in the accounts provided. The different pieces largely focus on the same event and timing, with varying emphasis on the condition of the cell and the survivor’s specific recounting of what happened before the deaths.
